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WW1 Memorial- International Design Competition
Memorials for the dead in history have emerged in many forms ranging from simple mounds on a prairie to majestic Egyptian pyramids. Mourning & commemoration as natural human instincts have found their form in architecture since time immemorial. The historic development of these structures has been a significant catalyst in our design as we aimed to bring primordial typologies to Washington DC in a dramatic, contemporary, and poetic form.
In our design process we investigated the typology of burial grounds such as the tumulus and the step-pyramid (ziggurat), which surface in numerous cultures from Meso-America to the steppes of Central Asia. A tumulus is a simple mound that contains the body of the deceased. (No wonder Adolf Loos called it the fundamental form of architecture.) Ziggurats & step-pyramids were also shrines/tombs that had quintessential value for commemoration.
Design principal
Selim Vural, AIA
Project team
Par Bratt
Phase
Competition
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